when you believe in an idea, nothing can stop you.

 

brother + cofounder, jonathan torrey (we call him JT) knows all about making his way.

 

a little background info: JT graduated from the university of georgia and then jetsetted to france to earn his masters, before working on several investment projects overseas. at 26 he left it all to start umano with alex (aka AT – the little bro).

 

where did you want to end up after school? 

JT: “for me it was all about investments. I love international work, so all of my projects were based out of latin america.”

 

was being an entrepreneur ever on your radar? 

JT: “alex and I had always bounced ideas back and forth, but we knew we needed time to see how the market actually works before we could create something.”

 

JT: “we started moving the concept forward while alex was in d.c.. when he went to afghanistan I quit my job and began working on sourcing.”

 

how did that feel? 

JT: “scary. the hardest part was knowing I was walking away from something that was almost too good to be true, especially given my age and experience.”

 

you just jumped into it? 

JT: “sometimes you have to take that step to get the ball rolling and believe in yourself. we had to work through whatever it took to move forward.”

 

what’s it like going from a corporate environment to starting your own business? 

JT: “like going from having every resource at your disposal, to only having google and your brain. literally. you just have to keep pushing until your break comes and know to be ready for it.”

advice for anyone who wants to bring an idea to life? 

JT: “if all your free time is being spent on an idea, that is what you need to be doing. growth can be painful, but you have to keep pushing until the break comes. if passion is there go for it.”